Middelpunt Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga has been named South Africa’s 29th Ramsar site. Here are the details…
Another Site for SA
South Africa now proudly boasts 29 Ramsar sites, after Mpumalanga’s Middelpunt Nature Reserve was recently declared the newest addition.
The new site was named just under a year since the declaration of the Berg Estuary in the Western Cape as South Africa’s 28th Ramsar Site, reports Travel News.
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The newest Ramsar site is a permanent freshwater valley bottom forming part of the broader Lakenvlei wetland system, most of which is located in the Greater Lakenvlei Protected Environment, and is home to one of the rarest and most threatened waterbirds in Africa, the White-winged Flufftail.
Middelpunt is also one of South Africa’s highest rainfall areas, and supports a variety of plants, animals, and microorganisms and plays a vital role in maintaining the genetic and ecological diversity of the Steenkampsberg Mountain Grasslands.
Besides all of its value for biodiversity, the site is also a source of drinking water for local communities and supports flood control and groundwater recharge and discharge.
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What is a Ramsar Site?
According to the official website, a Ramsar site is a wetland area designated by the Convention on Wetlands, which is a intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.Â
Some of South Africa’s other sites include:
- Barberspan, North West
- Berg Estuary Ramsar Site, Western Cape
- Blesbokspruit, Gauteng
- Bot – Kleinmond Estuarine System, Western Cape
- Dassen Island Nature Reserve, Western Cape
- De Hoop Vlei, Western Cape
- De Mond, Western Cape
- Dyer Island Provincial Nature Reserve and Geyser Island Provincial Nature Reserve, Western Cape
- False Bay Nature Reserve, Western Cape
- Ingula Nature Reserve, KZN and Free State
- Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, North West
- Kosi Bay, KZN
